History of complaints for deputy in deadly shooting

Sarasota County Sheriff's deputies investigate the deputy-involved shooting at 9:30 p.m. June 11 near Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and U.S. 301. Rodney Mitchell died after he was shot by a deputy when Mitchell's Jeep Liberty reportedly accelerated toward him.

Sarasota County sheriff's Deputy Adam Shaw — who stopped a Jeep driven by Bradenton resident Rodney G. Mitchell for a seatbelt violation — was put on a 90-day performance improvement plan last year for using poor judgment when pulling people over.

Minutes after Mitchell's June 11 stop, Shaw and another deputy fatally shot the 23-year-old after Mitchell reportedly drove his SUV at one of them.

Shaw, on the force for 2.5 years, has five complaints in his personnel file from drivers who nearly all say the same thing: Shaw stopped them for a seat belt violation even though they were belted in.

Justin Johnson, a 23-year-old State College of Florida student whom Shaw stopped in January, said the deputy is known in the African-American community for perching on U.S. 301 and stopping drivers for spurious reasons, especially if they are black.

"I felt profiled, as if I was a criminal," Johnson said. "Shaw has been routinely pulling over young black males. It seems he is out to target us."

Not all the drivers who complained about Shaw are minorities, and not all were stopped for seat belt violations.

Neither Shaw nor anyone in his chain of command — including Sheriff Tom Knight — would comment for this story.

Sgt. Troy Sasse, the other deputy involved in the Mitchell shooting, was involved in a previous fatal shooting into a vehicle in 2007. An investigation determined that the shooting was justified.

Johnson filed a complaint with the Sheriff's Office against Shaw, who stopped and cited him for a seat belt violation in January.

Johnson said that Shaw demanded to search his car, a request Johnson denied. Minutes later, according to a Sheriff's Office memo, a police dog smelled drugs inside Johnson's vehicle.

Shaw searched the car over Johnson's objections. Then he searched Johnson and his two passengers, twice. No drugs were found.

When Johnson went to court to fight the seat belt ticket, it was his word against Shaw's. He lost the hearing and paid his fine.

"He saw three young black males heading into Sarasota. That's why he stopped us," Johnson said. "The same thing happened to my cousin two nights before, with the same deputy, Adam Shaw."

Shaw asked to search the car, which Martin denied. Again, a police canine was called, alerted to a smell of drugs and the car was searched over the owner's objections. No drugs were found. Martin was given a warning and allowed to drive away.

"I was wearing my seat belt and my tag is in excellent condition, so what is his reason for everything that took place?" Martin asked in the formal complaint.

• Shaw stopped Pedro Dominguez in May for a seat belt violation and arrested him on drug charges. He stopped him again a month later, saying one of his children in the back seat was not belted in. Several days later, Shaw stopped a friend of Dominguez's who was driving Dominguez's car and arrested him on drug charges.

"He is lying about the seat belt," said Dominguez, whose first language is Spanish. "Baby had seat belt. I had seat belt. We all had seat belt. He pull me over for no reason. My friend, too, in my car. He harassing us."

A previous shooting

In November 2010, Shaw told Tiffany Saputo, who is white, that he pulled her over because the plastic bracket surrounding her rear license plate was too thick, even though it came with her car.

"My jaw dropped when he told me why he pulled me over — I was floored," said Saputo, who knows Shaw from high school.

The Sheriff's Office did not refer any of the complaints to its internal affairs division. Instead, they were handled by Shaw's supervisor, who in each case found that Shaw had not violated state law or department policy.

Shaw told investigators he saw a seat belt violation on the night of June 11, when he stopped Mitchell on a frontage road near Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Way and U.S. 301.

According to the Sheriff's Office, Shaw was standing at the driver's window and Sasse was in front of the SUV.

The SUV lurched toward Sasse, who told investigators that he feared for his life and fired two rounds at the driver. Shaw also fired twice at Mitchell, telling investigators he too thought Sasse's life was in danger.

Mitchell was mortally wounded. The Jeep veered across the highway, striking several cars before crashing into a pole at a gas station.

Daphney Branham, a Tampa attorney who has been retained by Mitchell's family, said the deputies used excessive force.

Both Shaw and Sasse remain on administrative leave while the Sheriff's Office investigates the shooting.

This is not the first time Sasse has shot at someone inside a vehicle.

In 2007, Sasse and other deputies chased Sarasota resident Michael Brabazon more than seven miles before stopping him on University Parkway. They suspected Brabazon was driving drunk.

Deputy Derek Baker later told investigators Brabazon pointed a gun at him. Baker, Sasse and Deputy Arik Smith fired a total of 58 rounds at the man, striking him 14 times. They later found a .32-caliber automatic in the car, which had been fired. The Sheriff's Office justified the shooting.

According to his personnel file Sasse, 33, graduated from Indiana University with a degree in general studies and worked as a stock clerk at Publix before he was hired by the Sheriff's Office in 2003. He was promoted to sergeant in 2010, commands the canine unit and makes $63,672 per year.

Branham, the attorney for the Mitchell family, said she was not surprised Shaw had a history of questionable stops or that Sasse had been involved in a previous shooting.

Branham also said the gunshot wounds Mitchell sustained were not meant to disarm him or stop the vehicle, but "were designed to effectuate a fatality, and that's exactly what occurred."

"We need officers with a more controlled demeanor to maintain peace and order, that are sensitive to issues, not so aggressive, who don't react to every situation by using force," she said.

'A professional officer'

Shaw graduated from Riverview High School in 2007, took some classes at USF and worked as a fitness attendant at the YMCA before he was hired in 2010, according to his personnel file. He makes $42,800 per year.

Shaw, whose father was a deputy sheriff, was hired right out of the academy.

One of Shaw's instructors voiced some concern to a background investigator "about the applicant's youthful age and maturity," according to documents in his personnel file.

Shaw was assigned to patrol and supervised by Sgt. Daniel Tutko.

In August of last year, Tutko put Shaw on a 90-day Performance Improvement Plan.

"Deputy Shaw was spoken to on his decision making as it relates to traffic stops, arrests, reports and officer safety," Tutko wrote in Shaw's 2011 annual review.

For the first 30 days of the plan, whenever Shaw was about to make an arrest, Tutko would go to the scene to be briefed about the facts of the case.

For the next 30 days Shaw was required to call his sergeant and brief him about every arrest. For the last 30 days, Tutko reviewed every arrest affidavit.

Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Wendy Rose said that other than these notations in Shaw's annual review there is no other documentation about the performance improvement plan.

In November 2011, Tutko wrote that Shaw was performing at an acceptable level and terminated the plan.

"Deputy Shaw has grown into a professional officer over the past year, and I expect Dep. Shaw to further mature as time goes on," Tutko wrote six months before the Mitchell shooting. "Dep. Shaw has also worked hard to overcome some of the areas that he was not very experienced in and as a result he is beginning to see 'the big picture' as it relates to all of the duties as a law enforcement officer."

On June 11, the day of the Mitchell shooting, Shaw was transferred from the patrol division to the department's tactical unit, which conducts special operations. The transfer took effect Thursday.

<p><em>SARASOTA</em> - A deputy involved in a fatal shooting last week during a routine traffic stop had previously been disciplined for making bad stops and bad arrests.</p><p>Sarasota County sheriff's Deputy Adam Shaw — who stopped a Jeep driven by Bradenton resident Rodney G. Mitchell for a seatbelt violation — was put on a 90-day performance improvement plan last year for using poor judgment when pulling people over.</p><p>Minutes after Mitchell's June 11 stop, Shaw and another deputy fatally shot the 23-year-old after Mitchell reportedly drove his SUV at one of them.</p><p>Shaw, on the force for 2.5 years, has five complaints in his personnel file from drivers who nearly all say the same thing: Shaw stopped them for a seat belt violation even though they were belted in.</p><p>Justin Johnson, a 23-year-old State College of Florida student whom Shaw stopped in January, said the deputy is known in the African-American community for perching on U.S. 301 and stopping drivers for spurious reasons, especially if they are black.</p><p>"I felt profiled, as if I was a criminal," Johnson said. "Shaw has been routinely pulling over young black males. It seems he is out to target us."</p><p>Not all the drivers who complained about Shaw are minorities, and not all were stopped for seat belt violations.</p><p>Neither Shaw nor anyone in his chain of command — including Sheriff Tom Knight — would comment for this story. </p><p>Sgt. Troy Sasse, the other deputy involved in the Mitchell shooting, was involved in a previous fatal shooting into a vehicle in 2007. An investigation determined that the shooting was justified.</p><p>Johnson <A HREF="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/371506-shaw-deferred-complaints.html#document/p9/a61006" target="_blank">filed a complaint</a> with the Sheriff's Office against Shaw, who stopped and cited him for a seat belt violation in January. </p><p>Johnson said that Shaw demanded to search his car, a request Johnson denied. Minutes later, according to a Sheriff's Office memo, a police dog smelled drugs inside Johnson's vehicle.</p><p>Shaw searched the car over Johnson's objections. Then he searched Johnson and his two passengers, twice. No drugs were found. </p><p>When Johnson went to court to fight the seat belt ticket, it was his word against Shaw's. He lost the hearing and paid his fine. </p><p>"He saw three young black males heading into Sarasota. That's why he stopped us," Johnson said. "The same thing happened to my cousin two nights before, with the same deputy, Adam Shaw."</p><p>Other people lodged similar complaints against Shaw:</p><p>&bull; Shaw stopped Lee Lashay Martin on Jan. 19 for a seat belt violation. <A HREF="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/371506-shaw-deferred-complaints.html#document/p5/a61007" target="_blank">Martin is adamant he was wearing his seat belt</a>.</p><p>Shaw asked to search the car, which Martin denied. Again, a police canine was called, alerted to a smell of drugs and the car was searched over the owner's objections. No drugs were found. Martin was given a warning and allowed to drive away.</p><p>"I was wearing my seat belt and my tag is in excellent condition, so what is his reason for everything that took place?" Martin asked in the formal complaint. </p><p>&bull; Shaw stopped Pedro Dominguez in May for a seat belt violation and arrested him on drug charges. He stopped him again a month later, saying one of his children in the back seat was not belted in. Several days later, Shaw stopped a friend of Dominguez's who was driving Dominguez's car and arrested him on drug charges.</p><p><A HREF="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/371506-shaw-deferred-complaints.html#document/p1/a61008" target="_blank">Dominguez said all three stops were for seat belt violations.</a> Everyone was belted in during each stop, Dominguez said.</p><p>"He is lying about the seat belt," said Dominguez, whose first language is Spanish. "Baby had seat belt. I had seat belt. We all had seat belt. He pull me over for no reason. My friend, too, in my car. He harassing us."</p><p><b>A previous shooting</b></p><p>In November 2010, Shaw told <A HREF="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/371506-shaw-deferred-complaints.html#document/p14/a61009" target="_blank">Tiffany Saputo</a>, who is white, that he pulled her over because the plastic bracket surrounding her rear license plate was too thick, even though it came with her car. </p><p>She said Shaw, who arrested her boyfriend during the traffic stop for an outstanding warrant, <A HREF="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/371506-shaw-deferred-complaints.html#document/p14/a61011" target="_blank">called her a "bitch" and was rude</a>. A department memo <A HREF="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/371506-shaw-deferred-complaints.html#document/p16/a61012" target="_blank">said it was Saputo's language that was "expletive laden and loud."</a></p><p>"My jaw dropped when he told me why he pulled me over — I was floored," said Saputo, who knows Shaw from high school.</p><p>The Sheriff's Office did not refer any of the complaints to its internal affairs division. Instead, they were handled by Shaw's supervisor, who in each case found that Shaw had not violated state law or department policy.</p><p>Shaw told investigators he saw a seat belt violation on the night of June 11, when he stopped Mitchell on a frontage road near Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Way and U.S. 301.</p><p>According to the Sheriff's Office, Shaw was standing at the driver's window and Sasse was in front of the SUV.</p><p>The SUV lurched toward Sasse, who told investigators that he feared for his life and fired two rounds at the driver. Shaw also fired twice at Mitchell, telling investigators he too thought Sasse's life was in danger.</p><p>Mitchell was mortally wounded. The Jeep veered across the highway, striking several cars before crashing into a pole at a gas station.</p><p>Daphney Branham, a Tampa attorney who has been retained by Mitchell's family, said the deputies used excessive force. </p><p>Both Shaw and Sasse remain on administrative leave while the Sheriff's Office investigates the shooting. </p><p>This is not the first time Sasse has shot at someone inside a vehicle.</p><p>In 2007, Sasse and other deputies chased Sarasota resident Michael Brabazon more than seven miles before stopping him on University Parkway. They suspected Brabazon was driving drunk.</p><p>Deputy Derek Baker later told investigators Brabazon pointed a gun at him. Baker, Sasse and Deputy Arik Smith fired a total of 58 rounds at the man, striking him 14 times. They later found a .32-caliber automatic in the car, which had been fired. The Sheriff's Office justified the shooting.</p><p>According to his personnel file Sasse, 33, graduated from Indiana University with a degree in general studies and worked as a stock clerk at Publix before he was hired by the Sheriff's Office in 2003. He was promoted to sergeant in 2010, commands the canine unit and makes $63,672 per year.</p><p>Branham, the attorney for the Mitchell family, said she was not surprised Shaw had a history of questionable stops or that Sasse had been involved in a previous shooting. </p><p>Branham also said the gunshot wounds Mitchell sustained were not meant to disarm him or stop the vehicle, but "were designed to effectuate a fatality, and that's exactly what occurred."</p><p>"We need officers with a more controlled demeanor to maintain peace and order, that are sensitive to issues, not so aggressive, who don't react to every situation by using force," she said. </p><p><b>'A professional officer'</b></p><p>Shaw graduated from Riverview High School in 2007, took some classes at USF and worked as a fitness attendant at the YMCA before he was hired in 2010, according to his personnel file. He makes $42,800 per year.</p><p>Shaw, whose father was a deputy sheriff, was hired right out of the academy. </p><p>One of Shaw's instructors voiced some concern to a background investigator "about the applicant's youthful age and maturity," according to documents in his personnel file.</p><p>Shaw was assigned to patrol and supervised by Sgt. Daniel Tutko.</p><p>In August of last year, Tutko put Shaw on a 90-day Performance Improvement Plan. </p><p>"Deputy Shaw was spoken to on his decision making as it relates to traffic stops, arrests, reports and officer safety," Tutko wrote in Shaw's 2011 annual review. </p><p>For the first 30 days of the plan, whenever Shaw was about to make an arrest, Tutko would go to the scene to be briefed about the facts of the case.</p><p>For the next 30 days Shaw was required to call his sergeant and brief him about every arrest. For the last 30 days, Tutko reviewed every arrest affidavit.</p><p>Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Wendy Rose said that other than these notations in Shaw's annual review there is no other documentation about the performance improvement plan. </p><p>In November 2011, Tutko wrote that Shaw was performing at an acceptable level and terminated the plan.</p><p>"Deputy Shaw has grown into a professional officer over the past year, and I expect Dep. Shaw to further mature as time goes on," Tutko wrote six months before the Mitchell shooting. "Dep. Shaw has also worked hard to overcome some of the areas that he was not very experienced in and as a result he is beginning to see 'the big picture' as it relates to all of the duties as a law enforcement officer."</p><p>On June 11, the day of the Mitchell shooting, Shaw was transferred from the patrol division to the department's tactical unit, which conducts special operations. The transfer took effect Thursday.</p>